The present invention relates to a mirror mount, and more particularly to a mirror mount that mounts a mirror to a fender of a vehicle.
There are a variety of vehicles, such as buses, shuttles and trucks, that have one or more fender mounted mirrors. These mirrors provide a rearward viewing perspective to an operator of the vehicle.
Most mirrors are mounted with mirror mounts including multiple support arms that are secured directly to a fender exterior of vehicle. Some mirror mounts, however, include a bracket that follows the contour of an outer surface of the fender. That bracket is strapped or screwed at a lower end directly to the outer fender exterior or “skin”. The bracket of these mounts includes a Z-shaped secondary bracket that extends from an upper end of the main bracket, across the top of the fender, and through a gap between the fender and hood of the vehicle. The Z-shaped secondary bracket is screwed to the bulkhead of the vehicle immediately under the edge of the hood.
While such constructions can reduce some vibration in the mirror transmitted through the typical thin outer fender skin, the fact that the bracket rests on and is supported by the fender skin can decrease the effectiveness of the vibration attenuation. This is because the bracket is still partially supported by the fender skin. Thus, an operator's view through the mirror still may appear blurry because the mirror vibrates. Parts of the mirror and the fender also can crack due to the vibration. Finally, these types of mirror mounts can be rather large, and can occupy valuable viewing space.